Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandakan, Sabah and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandakan, Sabah and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Sandakan, Sabah is 22.7% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 32.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Sandakan, Sabah is 37.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 43.2% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.32 MYR 9.13

$11.85 MX$211

-80.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.10 MYR 75.2

$42.16 MX$750

-54.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 MYR 18.86

$10.75 MX$191

-55.44%

Cappuccino

$2.64 MYR 10.42

$3.47 MX$61.8

-23.92%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 MYR 2.72

$1.45 MX$25.85

-52.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 MYR 0.99

$0.90 MX$16.06

-72.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 MYR 9.40

$3.05 MX$54.3

-21.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 MYR 14.19

$4.42 MX$78.6

-18.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 MYR 6.80

$1.37 MX$24.36

26.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 MYR 4.71

$1.87 MX$33.31

-36.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.15 MYR 4.53

$1.54 MX$27.46

-25.32%

Eggs

$2.77 MYR 10.93

$2.50 MX$44.53

10.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.29 MYR 60.3

$8.61 MX$153

77.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.56 MYR 14.04

$8.63 MX$154

-58.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.15 MYR 28.18

$11.02 MX$196

-35.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MYR 10.26

$2.75 MX$48.91

-5.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 MYR 4.58

$1.43 MX$25.41

-18.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 MYR 12.62

$1.87 MX$33.32

71.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.90 MYR 7.49

$2.17 MX$38.56

-12.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 MYR 4.72

$1.88 MX$33.50

-36.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 MYR 5.00

$2.25 MX$39.96

-43.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.46

$1.07 MX$18.99

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.00

$1.07 MX$19.10

-52.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.08 MYR 16.08

$4.15 MX$73.9

-1.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.66 MYR 73.5

$10.34 MX$184

80.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MYR 7.50

$1.68 MX$29.87

13.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 MYR 6.64

$2.48 MX$44.19

-32.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MYR 2.68

$0.55 MX$9.87

23.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.59 MYR 45.68

$26.53 MX$472

-56.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 MYR 4.74

$3.22 MX$57.2

-62.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 MYR 4.08

$2.48 MX$44.15

-58.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.80 MYR 22.84

$3.11 MX$55.3

86.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.50 MYR 1.96

$1.26 MX$22.34

-60.32%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$29.1K MYR 114.8K

$30.7K MX$545.4K

-4.99%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$27.9K MYR 109.9K

$24.0K MX$427.6K

16.00%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$47.94 MYR 189

$82.5 MX$1,467

-41.88%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$3.60 MYR 14.19

$22.29 MX$396

-83.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.43 MYR 92.3

$30.02 MX$534

-21.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.62 MYR 144

$51.4 MX$915

-28.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.72 MYR 22.53

$18.29 MX$325

-68.73%

Cinema Ticket

$2.80 MYR 11.03

$4.98 MX$88.7

-43.78%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$95.2 MYR 375

$200 MX$3,558

-52.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,471 MYR 17.6K

$5,304 MX$94.4K

-15.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 236

$35.71 MX$635

67.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.91 MYR 90.3

$39.56 MX$704

-42.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.8 MYR 275

$80.6 MX$1,433

-13.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.3 MYR 372

$88.3 MX$1,571

6.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 MYR 1,553

$969 MX$17.2K

-59.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$265 MYR 1,043

$482 MX$8,579

-45.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$651 MYR 2,564

$1,595 MX$28.4K

-59.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$467 MYR 1,840

$1,184 MX$21.1K

-60.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,904 MYR 7,501

$4,050 MX$72.1K

-52.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$993 MYR 3,913

$6,522 MX$116.0K

-84.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$757 MYR 2,982

$756 MX$13.5K

0.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

-73.73%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Sandakan, Sabah: March 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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